


Message for Santa

by literaryoblivion



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Hospitals, Kid Fic, M/M, Nurse Castiel, Original Character(s), Single Parent Castiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-03 07:24:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2842910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literaryoblivion/pseuds/literaryoblivion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He’d like to say he was desperate for the cash, but he’d be lying.</p><p>No, the reason Dean continues to accept his job as a Santa every year is to see the looks on the kids’ faces when they see him. He enjoys their enthusiasm when they tell him how good they’ve been all year so that he can give them what they ask. He especially likes it when after his shift at the mall, he takes himself and the suit and beard and visits his niece’s class and on the occasion the children’s hospital.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Message for Santa

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for [12 Days of Destiel](http://12daysofdestiel.tumblr.com) on Tumblr. The Tumblr post for this fic can be found [here](http://12daysofdestiel.tumblr.com/post/105946127340/message-for-santa).
> 
> Happy Holidays!!

He’d like to say he was desperate for the cash, but he’d be lying.

No, the reason Dean continues to accept his job as a Santa every year is to see the looks on the kids’ faces when they see him. He enjoys their enthusiasm when they tell him how good they’ve been all year so that he can give them what they ask. He especially likes it when after his shift at the mall, he takes himself and the suit and beard and visits his niece’s class and on the occasion the children’s hospital.

Sometimes the kids can be brats, it’s true, but the majority of them, especially the ones at the hospital, are genuine and caring. They often ask for things for their family or friends, or for simple yet impossible things that Dean wishes with all his heart he could give them: to be able to play outside without coughing, to get better, to go home.

He often can’t promise anything to the children at the hospital. He answers with things like, “the doctors will do all they can,” “I’m sure your family would love that,” “How about a toy instead?” He feels horrible that he can’t do more, that he doesn’t actually have magic to heal these kids and give them what they really want for Christmas. The kids seem to realize that and thank him anyway, pet his fake beard, give him a kiss on the cheek. They still smile and thank him for the candy cane he gives them, like he’s made their entire week by just being there.

That’s where he is now, at the hospital. It’s been a long day, but he’d promised one of his favorite nurses (if you can have a favorite nurse when you’re not really in the hospital that often) that he’d stop by all dressed up because the children’s unit was having a little Christmas party.

He was a little late, the traffic from the mall to the hospital was horrendous, but the kids and Castiel, the nurse he likes, didn’t seem to mind. He only had candy canes this time to pass out to the children that sat on his knee, but they were overjoyed nonetheless.

After the party had come to an end, and the children had been escorted back to their rooms, goodies in tow, Castiel had asked Dean to wait a little longer to see if the children who had been unable to attend the party were up to having Santa visit them in their rooms. Dean didn’t have anyplace to go except for an empty apartment and leftover Chinese food for dinner, so he agreed to wait, Santa get up and all, in the waiting area outside of the nurse’s station.

A few minutes after he sits down, a little girl with long brown hair and bright blue eyes appears and sits a few chairs down from him. She’s wearing jeans and a sweater, so she must not be a patient, perhaps visiting a sibling? She looks like she’s about seven or eight, but Dean’s never been a good judge of ages, so he could be wrong. Dean ignores her as best he can, messing with a game on his phone while he waits for Castiel to show him what rooms he needs to visit. Out of the corner of his eye, though, he can see her leaning forward in her seat, eyeing him warily.

Slowly, she scoots out of her chair and walks down to the seat right next to Dean. As she climbs back into her new seat, Dean quirks an eyebrow at her and side eyes her suspiciously. She doesn’t seem to notice, as she faces forward, kicking her legs slightly, like she’s purposefully ignoring Dean. If that’s how she wants to play it, fine by Dean. He goes back to his phone, doing his best to ignore her right back.

It doesn’t last long, however. Dean feels a slight tug on his sleeve, and when he turns, he sees the little girl looking up at him with wide eyes.

“Why hello, there,” Dean says, trying to infuse his voice with jolly to sound more like “Santa.”

“Hello, sir,” the little girl replies. Man, Dean’s never met a child so formal in her greeting. Her parents must be really strict.

“Please, call me Santa,” Dean says. He adds in a few more “ho ho ho’s” at the end of it.

“But, you’re not Santa,” the girl retorts, her lips in a frown.

“But, of course I am!” Dean tries not to sound desperate, but if any of the other children are around, they’ll be sorely disappointed if this non-believer spoils their fun.

The little girl kneels on the seat of her chair and leans in closer to Dean, as if inspecting him, and then nods like she’s seen her proof.

“Your beard is fake,” she points out, “and so is the hair. But, that’s okay,” she adds. “He’s very busy this time of year, so he sends helpers to impersonate him and report back. You work for Santa. Right?”

Well, okay, so she’s not a complete non-believer. Dean drops the Santa voice and nods. “I do. Guy’s got his hands full, so here I am.” Dean leans in, his hand cupped around his mouth, “Don’t tell anyone; they might not understand.”

When he leans back, the little girl has a very serious look on her face and bobs her head in understanding. Then the graveness dissolves on her face and she’s smiling again. She sticks out her hand. “I’m Sarah.”

Dean shakes her small hand with a smile. “Dean.”

“Nice to met you, Mr. Dean.”

Dean bites back a chuckle. “Nice to meet you, too, Sarah. So, you have a message you want to give the big guy?”

Sarah nods, a few strands of her hair fall in her face as she does. “Is it required to sit in your lap?”

“Nope. Only if you want to.”

Sarah looks at Dean, her lips scrunched to the side like she’s having an internal debate on whether or not to sit in Dean’s lap. Her lips thin, her face firm, having made her decision. She climbs out of her seat and stands in front of Dean, her arms outstretched for Dean to pick her up. Dean’s a little taken aback by it, figuring such a smart and proper girl would choose  _not_  to sit in a stranger’s lap. But, he quickly obliges, lifting her up and setting her on his knee.

“Alright,” Dean lets out with a sigh once she’s settled. “What would you like from Santa?”

“Oh, it’s not for me,” she says quickly.

“Oh?”

“It’s for my dad.” Dean nods to let her know he’s listening and waiting for her to continue. “I want Santa to find someone for him. He’s lonely. He says he’s not when I ask him, but I can tell he’s lying.”

Sarah is staring down at her lap frowning, clearly upset that her dad is lonely. Dean’s not quite sure what to say; it’s another request he (or Santa) can’t fulfill, but he wishes he could.

“I’ll tell him.”

Sarah gives him a smile. “And, tell him I can help, too. But, if he could just send… someone. I don’t… I don’t want him to be alone, and he needs a grown up.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you,” Dean says. “Is there anything you want from Santa?”

The little girl shakes her head. “I already wrote him a letter with what I want. But, this was too important to write. I wanted to make sure I said it in person to someone that could tell Santa directly. It’s really important, Mr. Dean. Will you please tell Santa?”

“Definitely.”

“Mr. Dean?”

Dean hums.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot.”

“What do _you_ want for Christmas?”

Dean laughs at the unexpected question. “Well, I wouldn’t mind a new set of wheels for my car, and I will never turn down pie.”

Sarah’s face brightens at the mention of pie.

“My dad makes pies for Christmas every year. I can help, and we can give you a pie!”

“Oh we will, huh?” a deep voice asks, and when Dean looks up, it’s Castiel. He’s looking a little more worn and frazzled than when Dean saw him earlier, but the same kind, blue eyes stare back at him. Dean should have known Sarah was his. They both have the same piercing blue eyes, not to mention mannerisms and speech patterns.

“Yes, dad. Can we  _please_? I want to make Mr. Dean pie.”

“Alright, we’ll add him to the list,” Castiel says.

Sarah looks mighty pleased with herself and climbs down from Dean’s lap. Dean watches as she does so, and once she’s standing next to her father, he looks up at Castiel.

“Who’s up, Cas?” Dean asks. Castiel bites his bottom lip.

“I’m sorry for making you wait, Dean, but I don’t think the others are up for a Santa visit today.”

“Oh, okay,” Dean says as he stands from his seat. “When do you want me to come back?”

“Oh, that’s alright. I know you’re busy; you don’t need to.”

“It’s fine, Cas. Not a problem,” Dean replies, waving Cas off.

Cas smiles gratefully. “You’re welcome to come back tomorrow, if you’d like.”

“Will you be here tomorrow?” Dean hopes his voice doesn’t sound too hopeful.

Cas bows his head to hide his growing smile. “I will be here tomorrow until three.”

“Awesome! I’ll… uh, see you tomorrow then,” Dean says, patting Castiel on the shoulder before walking over to the nurses’ station where he stashed his other clothes.

As he’s gathering his things and trying to remember where the nearest restroom is (because the fake beard is starting to itch), he hears Cas talking with his daughter.

“I have one more round to do and then we can go home, okay?” Cas says.

“Okay. Dad, do you have Mr. Dean’s phone number?”

“Uh, no. Why?”

“ _Dad_ ,” Sarah says exasperatedly, “how are we supposed to give him pie if we can’t tell him it’s ready?”

Dean grins to himself at the comment, but he doesn’t hear Castiel’s reply as he takes his clothes to the bathroom.

When he reemerges, Santa outfit in a garment bag folded over his arm, he sees Sarah sitting in the same row of chairs they had been in earlier. It’s clear that she has been waiting for him because she bounds over to him as soon as he’s in sight.

“Hello, Mr. Dean,” she says, beaming up at him.

“Hey there, Sarah.”

“You’re not in a hurry are you? Because my dad needs your number so we can give you pie, so you can’t leave yet. Also, I think you look better without the beard.”

Dean’s eyes widen because that is a lot of topics in one breath. “Uh, thanks. And, yeah I can wait.”

Sarah’s grin widens, and she takes his hand and walks him over to the chairs. She waits until he’s seated before taking the chair right next to him.

“What kind of pie do you like?” Sarah asks.

“I tend to like fruit pies, like apple or blueberry.” Sarah nods her head like she’s making a mental note. “What about you?” Dean asks, figuring he might as well make small talk with her while he waits for Cas.

“I like chocolate cream. Dad makes one special just for me every year.”

“That’s nice. Think I could get one special every year?”

Immediately after he says it, he regrets it. He shouldn’t joke around with a kid that will take him seriously and take him at his word. He opens his mouth to tell her he was kidding, but she cuts him off.

“I’ll ask. Hi, Dad!” she shouts when Castiel appears, seemingly out of nowhere to Dean. “I made Mr. Dean stay so you could talk to him."

“Sarah, you shouldn’t have kept him. I’m sure he has places he needs to go,” Castiel chides.

“It’s no problem, really,” Dean cuts in. “I was actually wondering if maybe you two would like to go get something to eat with me?” The idea popped into his head while he and Sarah were waiting for Castiel, but he didn’t think he’d actually voice it. Too late now; it’s out there, can’t take it back.

“Uhh….” Castiel hems.

“Please, Dad, can we? I want to eat with Mr. Dean.”

Sarah tugs on her father’s hand, eyes puppy-dog like, lips in a pout. The look isn’t even aimed at him, and Dean already feels like he’s wrapped around her finger, too. Unsurprisingly, Castiel melts and acquiesces.

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt,” he says while looking down at his daughter. He gazes back at Dean. “What did you have in mind?”

That’s a good question, since Dean hadn’t really gotten that far. “Uh, well, there’s a diner a few streets over. My niece seems to like it, if you’re worried about Sarah.”

“Rosalee’s?” Castiel suggests.

“That’s the one. Is that… okay?”

Castiel eyes his daughter first, who gives him a subtle nod, before replying, “We can meet you over there.”

“Great! Okay… umm see you… there, then,” Dean mumbles out. He gives an awkward wave to them both before exiting out of the waiting room and going to his car, feeling like an idiot.

~

The diner is pretty noisy and crowded, the dinner rush in full swing. But, Dean is already at a table by the time Castiel and Sarah walk in through the doors. When Castiel sees them, he can tell immediately what kept them.

Castiel is no longer in his scrubs, but in a pair of worn jeans, a white button up shirt tucked in them, the top few buttons of the shirt left open. Dean’s never seen Cas outside of the hospital and his drab scrubs, but he admits that if this is what he looks like, he wouldn’t mind it if it happened more often.

He can tell Cas is tired, but he looks warm, comfortable. He’s kind of beautiful to be honest, his clothes slightly rumpled, his hair messy. Dean just wants to wrap him in his arms and hold him forever.

He raises his hand to get Castiel’s attention, then watches them with a smile as they approach.

“Sorry we’re late,” Castiel says as first Sarah and then he slides into the booth across from Dean.

“You didn’t have to change on my account,” replies Dean.

“Oh, believe me, I did.” Sarah bobs her head emphatically to confirm. “You don’t want to know what ended up on those scrubs today. I keep a change of clothes in my locker for a reason.”

Before Dean can say anything else, their waitress steps up to their table, asking what they’d like to drink. Once they’ve answered, all three of them turn back to their menus to decide what to eat. Dean watches as Sarah wordlessly points to things on the menu to Cas, having a silent conversation with her father regarding what to get. Their waitress comes back quickly with their drinks and jots down each of their orders before disappearing again.

While they wait, Dean asks Sarah about her age (she’s eight and a half), and school (she likes art and reading), and asks Castiel about work (it’s exhausting but rewarding) and if he has plans for the holidays (working and spending time with Sarah). Yeah, okay, so maybe Dean was not so subtly trying to figure out if he’d be in town to get together more, but no one called him out on it.

The food finally arrives, and as they chow down, Dean asks Cas about these famous pies Sarah’s been telling him about and questions him on his homemade, award-winning, pie crust.

“Award-winning, huh?” Dean asks around a smirk and a bite of a burger.

“I have the certificate to prove it. You’re more than welcome to come over to see it.”

“The certificate or the crust?”

Castiel shrugs. “Both. You could… come over while I make it… if you want?” His voice seems small and hesitant, and he hasn’t looked up from his plate, pushing his food around it with a fork. Sarah seems oblivious to the flirting or their conversation, absorbed in the coloring book the waitress had brought her earlier.

“I’d… I’d like that a lot actually,” Dean replies, his lips curling in a small smile. Cas finally looks up and his lips match Dean’s, their eyes locked.

Suddenly, there’s a thud, and Castiel jumps up in his seat in an attempt to avoid the puddle of chocolate milk that is now all over the table.

“Sarah!” Castiel shouts out, although there’s no heat behind it. Quickly, he tries to yank napkins out of the dispenser, and Dean tries to help do the same.

Sarah is frowning, near tears. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry, Dad!”

Cas shakes his head. “It’s fine, Sarah. I know it was an accident.”

He’s gotten the majority of the spill sopped up with napkins. Dean catches the eye of the waitress, who comes over with a washcloth to clean up the rest. Castiel slides out from the booth, and his pants and shirt look a little worse for the wear.

“I’ll… uh, be right back,” Castiel says, thumbing behind him towards the bathroom. Dean nods and turns back to the waitress who now has taken care of the soggy napkins and dripping milk from the table and floor.

“Can we get another chocolate milk, please?” Dean asks in the kindest voice he can manage.

“Sure thing,” the waitress says, taking the mess of napkins and rags with her.

“We’ll get you another one,” Dean says to Sarah, who smiles in thanks.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Dean.”

“It’s okay. It happens.” Dean looks back at the restrooms, but there’s still no sign of Cas.

“Mr. Dean, do you like my dad?”

Hmmm, maybe she had been paying attention to the flirting. It’s not good to lie to kids, right?

“I… uh… honestly? Yes.”

She narrows her eyes at him. “Have you talked to Santa yet?”

Dean furrows his brow, confused. “Uh, no.”

“How long have you liked my dad?”

Geez. Since when was it time to be grilled by an eight year old?

“Probably since I started coming as Santa to the hospital, which was… a couple years ago? Not that I did anything about it,” he mutters the last part.

Sarah lifts her chin up, her lips puckered up. Then, the pucker transforms to a smile. “Okay.”

“Why the twenty questions?” Dean asks, curious.

“I wanted to know you weren’t doing this because of what I told you to tell Santa.”

Dean’s eyes widen and his mouth falls open. He had forgotten about her wish, too involved in his own thoughts of Cas. “Oh, no. This isn’t on purpose, I do… I really like your dad.”

The little girl beams. “He’s really great. I think he likes you, too.”

“Yeah?”

She bobs her head. She leans over the table, her hand cupped around her mouth, “You should ask him out.”

Dean chuckles. “Okay.” Sarah giggles, too.

“What’s so funny?” Castiel asks.

“Nothing,” both Dean and Sarah say in unison.

Castiel quirks an eyebrow, but doesn’t say anything else as he slips back into his seat.

~

With Sarah’s blessing, Dean asks Castiel out for a grown-up date, to which both Castiel and Sarah seem very enthused about. And when Dean shows up at Castiel’s doorstep, with the door swinging open to reveal both Castiel and a drawing of what he’s guessing is mistletoe above in the doorway, he pretends it’s real and kisses Cas square on the lips, lingering longer than he probably should since he knows Sarah is watching them both.

But, it was her idea after all, so she’ll just have to get used to it.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr](http://literaryoblivion.tumblr.com) or [twitter](http://twitter.com/lit_oblivion).


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